Reports: Avalanche, Bruins and Penguins are the favorites in Kevin Hayes sweepstakes

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As forward Kevin Hayes' deadline to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks approaches, Mark Divver of The Providence Journal reports the Colorado Avalanche have emerged as front-runners to sign the 22-year-old should he indeed become a free agent.

Hayes spent the past four years at Boston College, meaning folks in New England may be more abreast of the situation than most. 

At the same time, Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada suggests two Eastern Conference teams may have a leg up on the competition:

For a while now it's been assumed that if 2010 first-round pick Kevin Hayes decides not to sign in Chicago, his first choice would be Florida. That's where his brother Jimmy plays. There are rumblings, though, that the Panthers may choose not to go this route. That makes the favourites Boston (where he went to school) or Pittsburgh (Tom Fitzgerald is a cousin). If he does not sign with the Blackhawks by Aug. 15, he will be a free agent.

As mentioned below, the New York Rangers are also believed to be interested.

The deadline for Hayes to sign a contract with the Blackhawks is Aug. 15, but more and more it look as though he will hit the open market.